The People’s Bank of China holds roughly $1.2 trillion in U.S. debt, more than any other entity, and it is now the first foreign government with direct computer access to the U.S. government Treasury auction process. China, however, must sell U.S. Treasuries on the open market.

“It’s a big deal because the Chinese are getting very special treatment,” says Gordon Chang, Forbes columnist and author of the Coming Collapse of China, in an email to The Daily Ticker.

This special treatment does have the potential to save the Chinese government money, but not in transaction and commission costs because primary dealers are prohibited from charging its bidding customers fees. However, China could getting a better deal by keeping its purchases from Wall Street secret.

Not only is China the largest U.S. creditor, it is the largest exporter to this country. The U.S.-China trade deficit widened to $51.8 billion in March up from $45.8 billion in February, growing at the fastest pace in the last ten months, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

“Unfortunately, by failing to address Chinese mercantilism and resulting trade deficit with China, the United States is getting too deeply in debt to the Middle Kingdom,” says University of Maryland economics professor Peter Morici. “Granting it special status at Treasury is just another example of the policy of appeasement, pursued by both President’s Bush and Obama.”

The change in U.S.-China policy was not disclosed publicly and only discovered recently after Reuters sifted through Treasury documents. But this nondisclosure is not unusual, according to Treasury.

“Direct bidding is open to a wide range of investors, but as a matter of general policy we do not comment on individual bidders,” says Matt Anderson, Treasury spokesperson, in a statement on the matter.

In order to accommodate China, the U.S. Treasury Department had to upgrade its computer system to avoid hacking attempts.

“It’s also a big mistake to let the world’s arch cybercriminal direct access to Treasury’s computers,” says Gordon. “What is Geithner thinking? He should know better, but then again he always lets the Chinese walk all over him.”

In a phone conversation with Treasury’s Anderson, when asked to confirm whether any other government has similar access or about how this change in policy developed, he reverted to Treasury’s aforementioned statement.

Tell us what you think!

Counterfeit Chinese Parts Slipping Into U.S. Military Aircraft: Report (ABC News)

Counterfeit electronic parts from China are “flooding” into critical U.S. military systems, including special operations helicopters andsurveillance planes, and are putting the nation’s troops at risk, according to a new U.S. Senate committee report.

A year-long investigation conducted by the Senate Armed Services Committee found more than one million suspected counterfeit parts made their way into the Department of Defense’s supply chainand were bound for use by “critical” military systems, according to the 70-plus-page document released Monday. In addition to Navy helicopters and surveillance planes, the parts were slated to be put into the Air Force’s newest cargo planes.

“The failure of a single electronic part can leave a soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine vulnerable at the worst possible time,” the report says. “Unfortunately, a flood of counterfeit electronic parts has made it a lot harder to prevent that from happening.”

Chinese companies were identified as the “primary source” of the counterfeit goods and the Chinese government was criticized for its alleged disinterest in cracking down on counterfeiting there. The report said that Chinese companies take discarded electronic parts from all over the world, remove any identifying marks, wash and refurbish them, and then resell them as brand-new – a practice that poses a “significant risk” to the performance of U.S. military systems.

But the committee also pointed a finger at the Pentagon and U.S.-based defense contractors that rely on “hundreds of unvetted independent distributors.”

According to the document, the investigation “revealed failures by defense contractors and [the Department of Defense] to report counterfeit parts and gaps in DoD’s knowledge of the scope and impact of such parts on defense systems.”

“Our committee’s report makes it abundantly clear that vulnerabilities throughout the defense supply chain allow counterfeit electronic parts to infiltrate critical U.S. military systems, risking our security and the lives of the men and women who protect it,” said Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Sen. John McCain (R.-Arizona). “As directed by last year’s Defense Authorization bill, the Department of Defense and its contractors must attack this problem more aggressively, particularly since counterfeiters are becoming better at shielding their dangerous fakes from detection.”

DOWNLOAD: Inquiry Into Counterfeit Electronic Parts in the DoD Supply Chain (WARNING: Large PDF)

A spokesperson for the Department of Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this report, but another spokesperson told CNN the Pentagon was aware of the report and officials “looked forward to reviewing it.”

“The Department takes very seriously the issue about counterfeit parts,” Col. Melinda Morgan said. “We are working aggressively to address this issue…”

Months after the Senate committee launched its investigation, the Pentagon said in November it was moving to protect against counterfeit parts by modifying policies and improving its internal process as well as working more closely with private companies in the industry.

Then, Defense spokesperson George Little noted that “there has been no loss of life or catastrophic mission failure as a result of these parts entering the supply chain.”

Representatives for the Chinese government at its embassy in Washington, D.C., and consulate in New York, New York did not immediately respond to request for comment on this report.

Employees assemble photovoltaic panels at Suntech Power Holdings Co.’s factory in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, in 2011.

The U.S. Commerce Department imposed tariffs of 31 percent to 250 percent on Chinese solar-product imports, siding with companies including SolarWorld AG (SWV) in the U.S. that said the items were sold below the cost of production.

The fees, announced today in an e-mailed statement, add to duties as high as 4.73 percent imposed earlier for getting unfair subsidies from China’s government. SolarWorld had asked for levies of more than 100 percent. Aaron Chew, a New York- based analyst at Maxim Group LLC, said before the decision that tariffs higher than 10 percent would be considered a victory for the U.S. companies.

“Commerce today put importers and purchasers on notice about the consequences of importing illegally subsidized and dumped products from China,” Gordon Brinser, the SolarWorld unit’s president, said in a statement.

The Commerce Department said a final determination on the tariffs would be made in early October. U.S. customs agents will collect a deposit or bond on solar cells made in China in the 90 days before today’s decision.

SolarWorld said its Hillsboro, Oregon-based U.S. unit can’t compete with Chinese exporters, including Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP), the world’s largest solar-panel maker, and Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) unless tariffs are imposed. Suntech was told to pay 31.22 percent, Trina’s levies were set at 31.14 percent and others were told to pay duties ranging from 31.18 percent to 249.96 percent.

Shares Rise

U.S.-based solar-product companies rose in New York trading after the announcement. First Solar Inc. (FSLR) climbed 94 cents, or 6.7 percent, to $14.92, and SunPower Corp. (SPWR)added 51 cents, or 10 percent, to $5.59.

Opponents of the punitive tariffs, such as the Washington- based Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, which includes Westinghouse Solar Inc. (WEST) and more than 100 other companies, claim the levies would cost U.S. jobs.

“These duties do not reflect the reality of a highly competitive global solar industry,” Andrew Beebe, Suntech’s chief commercial officer, said in an e-mailed statement.

President Barack Obama has been criticized for his support of solar-equipment manufacturers, including Solyndra LLC, with some Republicans in Congress doubting the industry can be profitable. The lawmakers are pushing Obama to take a tougher stance with China, citing a $295 billion trade deficit.

Higher Tariffs, Costs

High tariffs may raise costs, slowing demand for polysilicon that’s used to make solar panels, hurting U.S. companies that reported $2.6 billion in exports in 2011, including about $700 million to China, according to a study by Ken Monahan and Caitlin Webber, analysts for Bloomberg Government.

Sales of U.S.-made solar inverters, which convert electricity generated by solar panels, may also be cut, according to the report released May 15. U.S.-based firms produced about 45 percent of the inverters installed in the U.S. in 2010.

“Higher prices of solar panels may decrease U.S. demand, which may exacerbate the oversupply of polysilicon,” and reduce profit margins, according to the Bloomberg analysts.

Tariffs also may lead to China retaliating against U.S. polysilicon producers with its own protectionist measures, according to the report.

The U.S. solar industry’s production of polysilicon, polymers and manufacturing equipment may be at risk, according to Rhone Resch, chief executive officer of the Solar Energy Industries Association, a Washington-based trade group.

Investments Jeopardized

“If the U.S.-China solar-trade disputes continue to escalate, it will jeopardize these investments,” he said in an e-mailed statement.

Growing demand outside the U.S. for solar panels may offset losses caused by the tariffs, according to the Bloomberg Government report.

The prices of solar modules, or panels, fell 50 percent last year and continue falling, largely as a result of the cheap Chinese imports, Timothy Brightbill, an attorney for SolarWorld, said in an interview.

“A 50 percent price collapse has no relation to product improvement,” Brightbill said before the decision was announced. “It was all because of China’s massive overbuilt capacity and the flooding of the market with Chinese imports.”

In its initial determination on the subsidies, Commerce said Suntech should pay a 2.9 percent tariff and Trina should pay 4.73 percent. All other Chinese solar-equipment firms were told to pay 3.61 percent. The duties were retroactive for 90 days before the ruling.

The U.S. has also been jousting with China over market access for products including steel pipes, poultry, tires and music. Along with the European Union and Japan, the U.S. filed a complaint in March with the World Trade Organization challenging the Asian nation’s export limits on rare-earth minerals.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Wingfield in Washington atbwingfield3@bloomberg.net; William McQuillen in Washington at bmcquillen@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net

( Hey!  Kinda sounds like our U.S. Jobs Project – American Made Chic Summer Tour kick off idea.)

Inc. Magazine reported on it and no- “it wasn’t completely random”.  In fact we at the U.S. Jobs Project like to think of it as grassroots – Guerrilla Marketing!  Nobody gets anyones attention by staying at home, marketing is an active, energetic process. Obviously, Mr. Case gets that and then some.

A little background on Scott Case:  Timothy “Scott” Case (not related to Steve Case) is a technologist, entrepreneur and inventor and was founding CTO of Priceline, the “Name Your Own Price” company that was one of only a handful of startups in U.S. history to reach a billion dollars in annual sales in less than 24 months. As Chief Technology Officer, he was responsible for building the technology that enabled Priceline’s hyper-growth. Most recently, Scott was named CEO and board member of the Startup America Partnership, where he’ll invest his energy to drive American entrepreneurship to create jobs and sustain our nation’s global leadership.

So, as you can see Mr. Case knows a little about hyper-growth, Startup’s and great ideas.

Full Article here

So far, it is a small operation, but Element’s attempt to bring TV manufacturing back from Asia to the heart of America’s rust belt is a powerful example of reshoring, the trend of jobs once outsourced to low-cost emerging economies being brought back to the US.

Click to enlarge

Reshoring is causing great excitement in the US. Companies such as General Electric and Caterpillar have been touted as high-profile examples of the trend. Since 2009 GE has announced plans to create 11,000 manufacturing jobs.

In an election year, reshoring has also become a potent political symbol, a counterweight to those who say the US is in decline or that current economic policies are not working.

One of President Barack Obama campaign advertisements accuses Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, of “shipping American jobs” to Mexico, China and India, both as a businessman and as Massachusetts governor.

Visiting a Wisconsin locksmith in February that brought back 100 jobs from China, Mr Obama touted pro-reshoring policies, such as tax breaks for US manufacturing and research, as examples of how his administration is creating jobs.

“Ask yourself what you can do to bring jobs back to your country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed,” he said, standing in front of a pile of crates stamped “Made in the USA”.

Yet it may be over-optimistic to bank on reshoring. Although the practice could create up to 3m jobs in the US by 2020, according to Boston Consulting Group, the consultancy reckons only a quarter of them will be directly in manufacturing. That compares to some 5.4m jobs the manufacturing sector has lost since the turn of the century.

Element’s experience demonstrates both the opportunities and limits of reshoring. Unusually for a reshorer, Element is a start-up in an industry that has long been in decline in the US. Consumer electronics manufacturing began to leave in the 1950s – first for Japan, then to South Korea and later to China.

While reshoring’s champions often cite rising wage costs in China, Mike O’Shaughnessy, Element’s owner, says the main costs that determined his decision to start operations in the US were high US import duties on larger and more expensive televisions, and freight costs.

“We realised seven or eight years ago that at some point in time it might make sense to bring certain elements of assembly to the US because of variable costs such as transportation, duties and currency fluctuation,” he says. “In 2008-2009, we started to look at it more seriously.”

The factory last month shipped its first batch of 46-inch-screen TVs to retailers such as Target, Walmart, Costco and QVC, the home-shopping channel. They are selling for $499, a price in line with the Asian competition.

But Mr O’Shaughnessy explains that the economics only work for large television sets. “If you’re in the toaster business, where the products are small, the cost of shipping the product is relatively low, so even if your container costs double, the impact is relatively small, you’ll continue importing,” he says. “If you’re in the large-screen TV business, it makes more sense to move here.”

Indeed, Mr O’Shaughnessy – who has been importing TVs from Asia for a decade – will continue to source smaller sets from Asia.

Even on his US-assembled sets, however, Mr O’Shaughnessy is still paying vast freight costs, since he is importing nearly all the components from China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. That reflects a further limitation – the lack of a local supplier base for some US manufacturers.

Element is talking to suppliers in Detroit and expects to start sourcing some parts locally from next year, although it could take several years before that reduces freight costs significantly.

The company faced another barrier to reshoring: the lack of skills in the US. It came up with an ingenious solution, bringing workers from factories in China to the US for one month to train their American counterparts.

Other US manufacturers may not be able to copy that idea. The sector has 600,000 unfilled positions because of a lack of qualified skilled workers, according to a report by Deloitte, the consultants, and the National Association of Manufacturers. “There is certainly a question that the lack of skills could hamper the short-term reshoring efforts,” says Deloitte’s Craig Giffi.

Even if reshoring gains pace, it may not help much to bring down unemployment. “The jobs are not being moved back here ‘one for one’,” Mr Giffi notes. “Typically, the new facilities and operations here are substituting capital – in the form of new advanced manufacturing processes – for low-cost labour that was available there.”

Boston Consulting Group argues that by 2015, it may be more economical to manufacture many goods in the US and promises “an American manufacturing renaissance”.

Paul Ashworth, an analyst at Capital Economics in Toronto, is sceptical. “With wage costs in many developing countries still such a small fraction of US levels, and productivity in those developing countries catching up with US levels faster than labour compensation, we see no reason to believe that US manufacturing employment is about to undergo a renaissance,” he says. “It is more likely that manufacturing employment will continue to trend lower.”

Mr O’Shaughnessy, who plans to double his workforce and produce up to 250,000 TVs a year, says that while he is proud to be doing it, he recognises that reshoring may never become a big trend.

“I don’t see a major shift but I see shifts,” he says. “You have to be strategic about how you do it.”

Original Article  HERE

Procter & Gamble Co will move its skin care, cosmetics and personal-care headquarters from Ohio to Singapore and the president of the group will leave rather than move.

The relocation, which is expected to take two years, comes as P&G wants to run the business out of Asia where it sees the biggest growth opportunity. It was announced less than three months after P&G unveiled a restructuring plan aimed at saving $10 billion and helping the world’s largest household products maker expand faster in emerging markets.

Cincinnati-based P&G’s brands include CoverGirl makeup, Olay and SK-II skin-care products and Secret deodorant.

Virginia Drosos, 49, chose to retire rather than uproot her family, which includes two teenagers, according to a P&G spokesman. Drosos has been with P&G since 1987.

Deb Henretta, group president of P&G’s Asia and global specialty channel, will take over as group president of global skin care, cosmetics and personal care.

Henretta, 51, joined P&G in 1985.

Henretta’s current position will be filled by Hatsunori Kiriyama, P&G’s vice president of Japan, marking the first time P&G has had an Asian leader as president of Asia. He will be responsible for all of Asia except Greater China, which will continue to be run by Shannan Stevenson.

Kiriyama will take over as president of Asia July 1, Henretta will take on her new role on Aug. 1, and Drosos will retire on Sept. 1, P&G said.

Just days after high-level US-China economic talks in Beijing, the Federal Reserve approved an application from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to buy a majority stake in the US subsidiary of Bank of East Asia.

The transaction will make ICBC the first Chinese state-controlled bank to acquire retail bank branches in the United States.

ICBC has been the most aggressive of China’s “big four” banks in expanding abroad.

Outside China, it operates subsidiary banks in Asian countries and has branches in a number of countries including Germany, Japan and Singapore.

According to the Fed, the bank has total assets of roughly $2.5 trillion.

ICBC will buy up to 80 percent of the US unit of the Hong Kong-based Bank of East Asia, which operates 13 branches in New York and California.

As part of the deal, ICBC and two state-backed financial firms — China’s sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corporation (CIC), and Central Huijin Investment — will be recognized as bank holding companies, regulated as commercial US banks.

The Fed said the takeover may not occur before May 15, or later than three months from Wednesday.

The broad expansion of China’s footprint in the US market comes amid a series of financial reforms in China that could begin to open the lucrative market to US firms.

After the May 3-4 talks in Beijing, the US Treasury noted China had made “encouraging progress” on a number of issues, including taking steps toward a more open and market-oriented financial system.

The Fed said Wednesday that the ICBC proposed acquisition, which is “relatively small,” would not have much of an impact on the banking market.

“The combined deposits of the relevant institutions in the Metropolitan New York banking market represent less than one percent of market deposits,” the central bank noted.

ICBC already has banking and financial services in the United States through its New York branch and its subsidiary broker-dealer.

The competition includes Bank of China branches in the New York metropolitan area, and CIC, which has a noncontrolling stake in Morgan Stanley.

ICBC will pay $140 million to buy an 80 percent interest in Bank of East Asia USA, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported in January 2011, at the time the deal was signed.

“This unprecedented acquisition of a controlling stake in a US commercial bank by a mainland bank is strategically significant,” Xinhua quoted ICBC chairman Jiang Jianqing as saying.

The Fed said its Board also consulted with the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the country’s main banking regulator, and pointed to steady improvement in regulation since its founding in 2003.

“For a number of years, authorities in China have continued to enhance the standards of consolidated supervision to which banks in China are subject, including through additional or refined statutory authority, regulations, and guidance,” it said.

In other Fed board decisions, Bank of China, the third-largest bank, won approval for a branch in Chicago. Bank of China operates two insured federal branches in New York City and an uninsured branch in Los Angeles.

Agricultural Bank of China, the fourth-largest bank, was set to establish a branch in New York City, where it already operates a representative office.

Boca Raton, FL —(DATE)  American Made Chic is now accepting nominees from American companies and individuals for The American Made Chic Award.  The award is a custom masterpiece created by R.S. Owens & Company in Chicago, IL that was featured on John Ratzenbergers’ series Made in America.

R.S. Owens & Company has been producing elegant awards and gifts for many of the world’s most prestigious and celebrated awards, including the most illustrious of all, the Oscar®, given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  Also produced by R.S. Owens & Company are the television industry’s Emmy, The MTV Video Music Award, and the Clio for excellence in advertising, the Academy of Country Music Awards, The Spike TV Video Game Award, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Award and now the American Made Chic Award.

As the American Made Chic team travels across the country and present a company or individual in each of their assigned destinations an award for the desire to strive for excellence in community, economy or new product development.

Awards will be given based on the following categories:

•           Old/New – Individual or company that has successfully established new and outstanding plans or designs of a historic area for community or economy.

•           Innovations-Made outstanding contributions by participating in or implementing the production, planning and implementation of a new product made in America.

•           Passion and Sustainability – Demonstrated outstanding commitment and courage for keeping the American Dream alive. Continue to operate a third or fourth generation business by providing jobs to local communities and contributions to his or her own legacy.

The American Made Chic Summer Tour will launch this on April 27^th in a red/white/ & blue bus and head up to Louisville, Kentucky for the Kentucky Derby.  Louisville, Kentucky will be the first Award location.  June is Nashville, Tennessee for the Country Music Awards, July will be Daytona for the NASCAR races and the Grand Finale will be in Detroit Michigan (Motor City).

To find out how you can become a sponsor, nominate a company or individual or to just find out how to get more involved please visit the tour website at: www.AmericanMadeChic.com

About Made in USA Certified, Inc. DBA American Made Chic:
American Made Chic is the events promotion division of Made in USA Certified with the goal of generating high impact events across the country in a grassroots campaign to get Americans excited about Buying American in a new and engaging way.  American Made Chic Summer Tour is a 3D marketing experience across America!

MADE IN USA CERTIFIED® is the leading non-partisan, independent third party, certification company for the “Made in USA”, “Product of USA” and “Service in USA” claims.
Contact:

Julie Reiser

561-279-2855

info@usa-c.com

Miami Herald

KEN THOMAS

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama signed bipartisan jobs legislation Thursday that will help small businesses and make it easier for startups to raise capital.

“When their ideas take root, we get inventions that can change the way we live,” Obama said in the Rose Garden, flanked by lawmakers and entrepreneurs. “And when their businesses take off, more people become employed.”

Some Democrats, however, raised concerns that the so-called JOBS Act, or Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups, softened investment protections enacted after the dot.com excesses and Wall Street meltdowns and the changes could lead to fraud and abuse.

Speaking to an invited audience that included entrepreneurs — including South Floridians Albert Santalo, founder, president and CEO of CareCloud; and Zalmi Duchman, founder and CEO of The Fresh Diet — Obama indicated that he’s aware of those concerns and has directed top officials to “keep a close eye” on how it goes into effect.

The main part of the bill would phase in Securities and Exchange Commission regulations over a five-year period to let smaller companies go public sooner. Firms that have annual gross revenues of less than $1 billion would enjoy this “emerging growth company” status.

Both Duchman, whose North Miami-based company delivers healthy, gourmet meals nationwide, and Santalo said the bill would benefit South Florida because greater access to capital could ultimately bring more jobs to the region. Both also said they would consider an IPO.

“We certainly look at an IPO as a realistic possibility for CareCloud. This new legislation would allow us to do it sooner,” said Santalo, whose three-year-old Miami-based company provides cloud-based practice management, electronic health record and medical billing software and services for medical groups.

“Like any company, we have to be laser-focused on making sure we stay ahead of our competition,” Santalo said. “The JOBS Act now grants us greater access to new capital if we determine that is what we need, and gives us the same advantage that public companies have in raising capital.”

The bill combines a number of bipartisan bills that exempt newer companies from SEC reporting rules in order to reduce costs and red tape. Another provision facilitates the practice of “crowd-funding” in which the Internet is used to solicit a large number of smaller investors.

Sara Hanks, a securities attorney and co-founder of CrowdCheck, a company aimed at helping startups, said the crowd-funding element will help make it easier for small companies to access capital but warned it will be up to investors and entrepreneurs “to protect themselves from deals that are too good to be true.”

The legislation removes SEC regulations preventing small businesses from using ads advertisements to attract investors. It also raises from 500 to 2,000 the number of shareholders a company or community bank can have before it must register with the SEC, a provision Duchman said could be beneficial.

“I believe this JOBS Act is a game-changer for small business in South Florida and around the nation,” said Duchman, who launched his company using credit-card debt in 2006.

The Obama administration wants the Los Angeles apparel and textile industry to help the country double its exports by the end of 2014. Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis made his first trip to Los Angeles as a member of the Obama administration, visiting key apparel and textile factories on April 2 and then holding a round table with about 30 apparel and textile executives to urge them to take advantage of the various free-trade agreements negotiated by the U.S. government.

“The whole point of my being here is to talk to the industry about how to take advantage of the ‘Made in USA’ label and how do we use our trade agreements to help the industry export,” said Marantis, who was named Deputy U.S. Trade Representative in 2009. He has been active in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a regional trade agreement between the United States and eight other countries—Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Peru and Singapore.

This was Marantis’ first trip to Los Angeles in his role as a trade negotiator. He toured the facilities of Karen Kane, a well-known womenswear maker, as well as denim sewing contractorNew Fashion and the wash and dye house Blue River Denim, Inc. He then met with about 30 industry executives at the offices of the non-profit Fashion Business Inc. to encourage L.A.’s apparel makers to take advantage of the fast-growing markets of Asia. For example, Vietnam has a population of 90 million people and most of them are under the age of 30. “Our mission in life [at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office] is to grow exports that support new jobs,” Marantis said.

He pointed out that the recently enacted free-trade agreement with South Korea means that U.S. exports will be boosted by $10 billion to $11 billion a year. With that free-trade agreement, apparel exports to South Korea are no longer subject to an average 13 percent tariff. “The role of the industry here is producing high-fashion, high-style items. There is not only a market here, but 95 percent of the world’s consumers live abroad. There is a market [for California fashion] in Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea,” he said.

Marantis spoke to industry leaders such as Lonnie Kane, president of Karen Kane; Bryan Kang, president of Rhapsody Clothing Inc.; Rob Greenspan, head of Greenspan Consult Inc.; Ken Wengrod of FTC Commercial; Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Association; Frances Harder, founder of business incubator Fashion Business Inc., and Joe Rodriguez, executive director of the Garment Contractor’s Association of Southern California